Heavy weapons in Sykies: 49-year-old Turkish moral accessory remanded in custody
The 49-year-old Turkish national denied the charges before the Thessaloniki investigating judge. By mutual consent of the prosecutor, his remand in custody was decided.
49-year-old Turk remanded in custody over weapons in Sykies
According to ERT, the 49-year-old Turkish national accused as a moral accessory in the heavy weapons case in Sykies, Thessaloniki, gave his statement before the investigating judge and was remanded in custody with the consent of both the investigating judge and the prosecutor.
The accused was transferred to Thessaloniki courts from Korydallos prison, where he is already being held in the context of a pending extradition request from Turkish authorities regarding a computer fraud case — a request on which the Court of Cassation has issued a positive opinion.
During his statement, the 49-year-old denied the charges — moral accessory in a case of unlawful firearms possession and participation in a criminal gang — maintaining that he has no connection whatsoever either with the findings or with criminal groups of his compatriots. "I want to go to Turkey to serve my sentence," he stated, referring to the pending extradition procedure against him.
The decision for remand in custody currently suspends the execution of the extradition, as the judicial proceedings in the Thessaloniki case are now pending.
The findings and previous arrests
The arsenal found in the storage facility in Sykies included a military free-fire rifle, an Uzi-type submachine gun, magazines, sights and ammunition. The findings were discovered by officers from the Internal Affairs Service — the so-called Greek FBI — on 12 September, during a targeted operation. The weapons are alleged to have been intended for members of a Turkish criminal gang.
During the operation, a 36-year-old Turk and a 30-year-old Greek were arrested in flagrante delicto at the moment they were exiting a ground-floor warehouse carrying the weapons in cardboard packaging and a bag. The two were initially released with restrictive conditions; however, following an appeal by the deputy prosecutor, the Thessaloniki Court of Appeals ordered the replacement of the restrictive conditions with remand in custody.
With the detention of the 49-year-old, all three individuals involved are now in remand custody.
Source: ERT